Peanut Butter Cup Cake- a fudgy and moist chocolate cake topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting and mini peanut butter cups. So amazingly delicious. It’s the ultimate chocolate and peanut butter dessert experience.
The Ultimate Flavor Combination
This Peanut Butter Cup Cake is intense. It’s wonderfully sweet, full of chocolate flavor and peanut butter flavor. Everything you love about Reese’s peanut butter cups is in this cake.
If I had to pick an ultimate favorite dessert flavor, it would have to be chocolate and peanut butter. They are each divine on their own, but totally magical together.
Super Moist Cake Batter
The chocolate cake batter for this recipe is one of my favorite cake batters. Often homemade cakes are a little lackluster. Sometimes even a little dry. But not this one. It is amazing and is the basis of this Samoa Bundt Cake, another one of my favorite desserts.
What Makes The Cake Batter So Amazing?
- A full two cups of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips adds tons of intense chocolate flavor.
- A full box of brown sugar adds tons of sweetness.
- A cup of sour cream helps keep the cake moist.
- A cup of hot water brings out the chocolate flavor and keeps the cake moist.
Light and Fluffy Frosting
The frosting is equally amazing and has a secret ingredient- instant pudding mix. It makes the frosting super light and fluffy.
Note: The batter will be much thinner than you are used to with a cake after you add the hot water. Don’t worry. It is supposed to be this way.
Kitchen Tools I Use
- Stand Mixer– I use a stand mixer for this cake recipe but a hand-held mixer can be used if you don’t have a stand mixer.
- Offset Spatula– the frosting is so much easier to spread if you use an offset spatula.
- Piping Bag and Tips– If you want to get a little decorative with the frosting, use a disposable pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
This made from scratch chocolate peanut butter cake recipe is sure to get rave reviews!
More Chocolate-Peanut Butter Recipes
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Grahams
- Chocolate and Peanut Butter Mousse Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
- No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
- Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Slow Cooker Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Watch the short video below to see how to make this recipe.
Peanut Butter Cup Cake
Ingredients
Batter
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butter,, softened
- 1 (16-ounce) package light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups butter,, softened
- 1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 1/2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
- mini Reese's peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Spray 3 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed for 5 minutes.
- Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Beat in melted chocolate just until combined.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add flour, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Beat in vanilla extract.
- With mixer on low speed, gradually add hot water.
- Divide cake batter evenly between the 3 cake pans.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cakes feel firm when you gently press on top. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan and then remove from pans to cool completely.
- To make frosting, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth and creamy.
- Beat in half the powdered sugar and half the milk.
- Beat in remaining powdered sugar, remaining milk, and the instant vanilla pudding mix.
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread frosting on top. Layer another cake layer and spread frosting on top.
- Layer final cake layer on top and spread top and sides with frosting. Reserve 3/4 cup of frosting to decorate the top. Place it in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe it around the edge of the cake.
- Press a mini peanut butter cup into each frosting mound.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazing!
Excellent!
Today was my second time doing this, and my buddies were impressed. Since the flavors of peanut butter and superior frosting are sufficiently distinct from one another (especially geometry dash), they complement each other really well, despite my initial belief that the former would be excessive.
This sounds delicious
Will it work in a 9x 13?